Two years ago he wrote a feature article in Esquire about a restaurant which he immodestly called, "The Best Restaurant In The World." A friend of mine showed it to me and asked if the town it was near, Mantova, Italy, wasn't close to where I was travelling on business the next week. I looked on a map and it was just a few miles away! The next morning I called the restaurant to make a reservation "for one"-me. In broken English the man on the other end of the line laughed when I made the request. I thought he was laughing because I was dining alone and, certainly, there must really be something wrong with me that I couldn't find a friend to join me at his restaurant!But, no, he was laughing because I was asking for dinner the next week. It seems that Dal Pescatore-the three Michelin starred restaurant that Mariani had written about-only had thirty seats and booked up three months in advance. Then he asked me if I could come for lunch that same day.I asked him if the luncheon menu was the same as dinner because in Italy it often is. He said yes. Well, I went to Dal Pescatore. The point behind writing all this is because I am deeply indebted to John Mariani for one of the finest meals of my life.My wife, two years later, is still angry at me for going without her. She, to this day, doesn't understand how a single man could possibly run up a check of $250 for one in Italy with a strong dollar. But I did! And the '90 Solaia was delicious. As was the '86 Avignonesi Vin Santo I had as a dessert wine.This was a truly incredible experience that I only wish that I could have shared with her.I don't know if Dal Pescatore is the "best restaurant in the world" but it certainly is one of the best. Regardless of what John Mariani thinks of Red Ginger the man certainly knows a good Italian restaurant when he sees one!